Blog: Seat belts save lives

Monday

Jul 1, 2013 at 10:00 AM

Buckle-Up America and ClickIt or Ticket mobilizations remind area residentsthat safety should be everyone's top priority; and these annual state andnationwide safety campaigns encourage everyone on the road to use seat beltsand child safety seats and use them properly.

Rae-Ann Tucker-Marshall Henry-Stark Health Department

Buckle-Up America and ClickIt or Ticket mobilizations remind area residentsthat safety should be everyone's top priority; and these annual state andnationwide safety campaigns encourage everyone on the road to use seat beltsand child safety seats and use them properly.

"Seatbelts are the most important lifesaving equipment in your vehicle,but they only work if you take the time to use them correctly, states RaeAnnTucker-Marshall, Health Department Director of Public Information. It onlytakes a second to snap the buckle on a seat belt, but the benefits can lastyou a lifetime."

Since the Illinois primary safety belt law was enacted, safety beltcompliance has jumped over 15 percent from 76.2 percent in 2003 to 92.6percent in 2010.

The Department Staff also offers the following facts to local drivers:

* Law enforcement will be out in force both Day and Night to remind theIllinois residents that are not buckling up, to wear their safety belts -every trip, every time!

* Over 400 Illinois Law enforcement agencies, in addition to theIllinois State Police, will be writing tickets during the Click It or Ticketmobilization.

* As the #1 leading cause of death and disability for Americans betweenthe ages of 4 and 34, motor vehicle crashes are a serious public healthproblem.

* Safety belts, when used, reduce the risk of fatal injury to front-seatpassenger car occupants by 45 percent, and by 60 percent in pickup trucks,SUVs and minivans.

* The average cost for a critically injured survivor of a motor vehiclecrash is estimated at $1.1 million over a lifetime.

For more information on auto passenger safety visitwww.buckleupillinois.org. or visit our website at www.henrystarkhealth.comor find us on Facebook at Henry and Stark County Health Departments.